Women in the Civil Services

Book excerpt: This book explores the personal and professional lives of women in the Indian Civil Services and analyses the dynamics of gender and workplace identities for women in government. Based on first-hand interviews of women civil servants at various levels and ages, this book presents a narrative of their work conditions, the degrees of authority they exercise and their perceptions of themselves – in relation to their children, husbands, family, male and female colleagues, politicians and the public at large. It addresses pertinent issues like work–family balance, workforce diversity, equal employment opportunity, sexual harassment at the workplace, among others. Through this research, the author addresses questions such as, do women in public administration think differently from their male colleagues? And do they exercise different leadership styles, prioritise different issues, approach problems differently, make decisions in markedly different ways and play an actively representative role? This book helps to identify major obstacles that hinder the participation of women in decision-making and uncovers the bottlenecks that impede women’s advancement in the civil services specifically to policymaking positions. An important and timely study, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of gender studies, public administration, management and leadership studies. It will also be of interest to organisations working on issues of equal opportunity and affirmative action in public institutions.